A Change
by Jay lupin 1
Summary: AU As a baby, Harry is abused at the Dursleys. What happens when Dumbledore asks Remus to take him in?
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
Remus threw himself onto his couch sullenly and conjured a cup of tea into his hand. He had arrived home from yet another failed job interview, the fourth that week. He sighed and picked up the Daily Prophet from the coffee table, hoping to find someplace, anyplace actually, that would hire him. He was becoming desperate to find a job, now. But as soon as an employer found out about his condition, it was a 'Sorry, but you just aren't qualified' or 'We'll get back to you'

It was much easier to deal with when he had his friends to go and talk to. They always had a way of making things seem not so bad. But of course they had been stolen away from him. James, Lily, and Peter, all dead. All because of one person. That back-stabbing Sirius Black. It was barely a year ago that it happened, he thought That traitor turned Lily and James into Voldemort and murdered Peter, along with countless others. Remus still couldn't believe Sirius, of all people, had done it. He pushed away those thoughts, instead concentrating on the list of job opportunities listed in the paper before him. If things kept going for him like they were, he'd be forced to the indignity of getting a muggle job very soon.As he skimmed through the job listings, a shout of his name from the kitchen surprised him. He dropped the paper back to its former place on the coffee table and stood to see who could be calling in on him. It wasn't very often he had received any visitors. He was faintly surprised when he saw the lined face and long silver beard of Albus Dumbledore sitting in his fireplace, amid green flames."Afternoon, Professor," Remus greeted."Albus, if you would, Remus. I have long since been your teacher," Dumbledore smiled. Remus could see in his face that this wasn't just a social call. There was something the older man wanted to discuss. "Can I offer you some tea?" Remus asked, as way of inviting him in."Yes, tea sounds fine," Albus said. His head disappeared from the fire and a moment later he emerged from the fireplace.  
"Please, have a seat," Remus offered, conjuring a mug of tea. Albus sat in a vacant chair opposite him.  
"Remus, I've come to discuss something of significant importance with you," Albus said, looking solemnly at Remus.  
"Which is, sir?" Remus asked, taking a sip of his tea."Harry," Albus said, "As you know, he was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle after Lily and James were murdered. Recently, there have been some problems with the arrangement.""What sort of problems?" Remus asked in a controlled voice, looking at him warily. He knew what kind of people the Dursleys were; Lily had spoken of them often, never kindly. "He has been being mistreated recently. At first, nothing serious at all, but as of late, by word of Arabella Figg, it has become abruptly worse," Albus explained."Are you telling me that they are abusing Harry?" Remus asked, his voice not so controlled anymore. Albus nodded.  
"He is only a child! A baby!" Remus began to rage, "How dare they--"He was cut off by Albus' calmly spoken words, "Please calm down, Remus. It would be best if this was handled reasonably.""You left him there! I told you you shouldn't! Minerva agreed with me!" Remus began to feel angry now."Remus, it was a mistake, but at the time, it was in his best interest. I had my reasons. I shall talk to you later and explain more. If you would like to remove Harry from their care, you will have to listen to me," Albus said in that ever-calm voice of his."You- you left him there? He is still with them? Why didn't you go for him, yet? We have to go! Now!" Remus continued to yell."I could not take him from that place. He has nowhere to go, which is why I am here, now," Albus said, raising his eyebrows slightly. There was a pause where Remus registered what he was hinting at."You mean- Harry live with me?" Remus asked happily. Then disappointment settled over him, "But my condition.""Remus, I am perfectly aware of your condition. And arrangements will be made for you. That is if you agree," Albus said."Of course I do!" Remus said. If there was anything he could do to help Harry, he was willing. He had wanted to take care of Harry from the start, but Albus had denied him that, saying he had his reasons."You do realize exactly what you are taking on and the freedoms you are giving up?" Albus asked."I have no freedoms. Come to think of it, I have no job. I am barely able to keep a roof over my own head. I don't think I could afford it," Remus said miserably."Not to worry on that. With a job, there would be no time to look after Harry. Things will be taken care of for you and young Harry," Albus smiled."He needs to be taken from that place. When are we getting him?" Remus asked."As soon as you get things in order, you may go for him. You will need a bigger place for the two of you. I have found a small house not too far that will suit you and Harry perfectly. You can pack your things now and take them over. Laertes, the house elf, will greet you there. I thought you might need one as a baby can take up a lot of one's time, so I sent him from Hogwarts. This is the key to an account I have set up for you and Harry. And this is the key to the account left to Harry by Lily and James," Albus handed him two keys, "You'll need to go out and get his baby things and set them up before you take him. You'll have no time to once he's there."

"How am I getting Harry?" Remus asked.

"Apparate to Arabella's, get Harry, and Floo back from her home. Remus, I stress that, no matter what you are met with, you do not harm the Dursley's. I urge you to only take Harry and leave," Albus said meaningfully. Lupin swallowed hard. Just how bad was it, he wondered.

"Where do I get all this stuff at?" Remus asked."There will be some shops in Diagon Alley. Spare no expense. The sooner you set up, the sooner you can get Harry. I've already set the house with the Floo network, Remus's Cottage," Albus said."Knew I wouldn't say no then?" Remus asked."Yes, I did," Albus smiled, "I must be going now. I have to see to a few things about this at the ministry, now. I will be by in the morning to discuss things with you."

He stood and took a pinch of the floo powder from the pot on the mantle and threw it into the flames. They turned green and he stepped in, calling out clearly, "Ministry of Magic!"

Remus stood in silence for a moment, taking in what just happened. He couldn't believe he'd be taking care of Harry. He snapped out of his thoughts. He had to hurry up and get everything settled. The sooner that was done, the sooner he could take Harry away from the Dursleys. He hurried up the stairs and pulled out his battered old trunk. There wasn't very much to pack. He took out his wand, shrinking all the furniture, and then he put it in the trunk. He hurried through the house, doing the same in every room. It only took fifteen minutes before he was completely ready.

Remus took a pinch of Floo powder and dropped it into the flames, calling out, "Remus's cottage." He stumbled out into a big kitchen, well, big by the standards he was used to. He saw a little elf hurry towards him, bowing."Master Remus, you is here. Master Dumbledore say you is coming and I is to greet you," it squeaked, "I will take your trunk, sir."

"Thank you," Remus said. The elf began to heave the trunk across the room. Remus stopped him.

"Never mind that, Laertes. You can use magic. It will be easier and faster," Remus smiled at the elf."Is you sure, sir?" Laertes asked. Remus nodded."Can you show me around first?" he asked."Yes, sir," Laertes said. He led Remus through the whole house quickly. It wasn't too big or extravagant, a nice size home for Remus and Harry to live. Downstairs was the kitchen, living room, and a study. Upstairs was the two bedrooms and a bathroom. He smiled when Laertes led him outside. Only trees, flowers, and grass. No other houses or noisy shops, as he was familiar with, living in small apartments."I'll unpack when I get back. Right now, I have to go pick a few things up from Diagon Alley," Remus said to Laertes when they were back in the kitchen. He decided against the Floo and apparated into the crowded cobbled street.-----------------------------Two-year-old, Harry Potter, sat in a dark cupboard under the stairs of the Dursleys large house. A house with two extra bedrooms, and he had to lie in a cupboard. Harry's stomach hurt with hunger. He sat up on the cold floor and held tight to a raged old blanket. Dare he go out and try for food? Was it worth the risk?Slowly, he pushed the door of the cupboard open and inch and looked out. He could hear his aunt and uncle laughing. They were in the living room. Harry pushed the door ever so slowly open enough to squeeze through. He got shakily to his feet and crept to the kitchen. He pushed open that door, too. Without a noise, he went over to the counter and took from it a slice of bread that was in a basket. He put the delicious food into his mouth, taking a big bite. He took another bite, eating as quickly as he could. He had only a little bit left when he heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen. He threw the small piece of bread under the stove and began to crawl under the kitchen table."Boy! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Did I say you could come out of your cupboard?" Vernon roared at the little boy. Vernon grabbed him roughly by the arm and shook him.

"Sawry!" Harry cried. Vernon hit him hard across the face. Harry began to cry, only enraging Vernon more.

"You little bastard! Stop that!" he yelled and gave Harry another smack, before dragging him to the stairs. He gave Harry one last smack before tossing him into his cupboard. Harry curled up into the fetal position and cried quietly into his ragged blanket to muffle the sobs that would surely bring more trouble if heard.-----------------------------Remus entered the first shop he saw that had what he was looking for. A woman in dark blue robes greeted him. "Can I help you, sir?" she asked."Yes, I need a crib, baby clothes, toys, just everything. I need to have the room ready very soon," he said. She smiled and led him through the store. By the time he left, he was weighed down with three heavy bags of shrunken furniture, toys, clothes, diapers, and all else that she could sway him to buy, which was nearly everything. Upon apparating home, he found his things had been unpacked for him, and arranged throughout the house. The house elf had obviously been busy while he was gone. Everything had been cleaned and arranged nicely."Thank you, Laertes," Remus said, smiling at the elf."You is welcome, sir. Is master needing anymore help?" Laertes asked."No, I can manage," Remus said. Laertes nodded disappointedly."Well, actually I could use some help setting up Harry's room," Remus said, causing the elf to brighten up."Yes, sir!" he squeaked. He took one of the bags and began up the stairs, Remus following after him. Remus was in a hurry to get this done. He didn't want Harry to have to spend a moment longer than he had to with his horrible aunt and uncle.Once Harry's room was finished, Remus apparated to Arabella Figg's house, eager to bring Harry to his new home. He couldn't believe how vastly, in the last two hours, his life had changed.

"Remus, you nearly gave me a heart attack," she sighed, "I thought you'd never come. I've seen the boy this morning. He wasn't looking very good. Underfed and dirty. Decided to contact Dumbledore. You'd better get over there."

As she spoke, she led him to the door and pointed to the house at the end of the block on the other side of the street.

"Thank you, Mrs. Figg," he managed to say, before hurrying towards the house. He couldn't believe the nerve of these people. How bad was Harry anyway? She made it seem worse than what Albus had explained. He fingered his wand as he walked up the sidewalk, but no, Albus warned him not to. He pulled his hand away from it.He didn't bother knocking when he reached the house; he flung open the door and stepped inside. Vernon Dursley looked up from his paper, startled. He jumped to his feet, his face turning a deep red."Who the bloody hell are you?" he demanded.""Where is Harry?" Remus asked."Harry? We know of no Harry!" Vernon said, trying to be calm, but failing."Don't lie to me! I know he is here!" Remus pulled out his wand, without the means to use it. He just wanted to get Dursley moving a bit faster. He heard a whimper from near the stairs and rushed over as a screechy voice sounded from upstairs."Vernon, that boy whining again? Give him a whack for me!" screeched Petunia. Remus couldn't believe he heard her say that. He tried to keep his anger in check. He needed to find Harry and leave.He saw no sign of Harry near the stairs, but he was sure the sound came from that spot. He strained to hear another noise and his wolf hearing picked out another low whimper. On the side of the stairs was a small cupboard door. He reached out to open it, but his hand was slapped away roughly."GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Vernon roared."Get back, Dursley, or you will regret it," Remus threatened and he meant it now. His anger was reaching its breaking point, something that rarely, if ever, happened."What's going on, Vernon? Who is that?" the bony, horse-face woman appeared at the top of the stairs. Remus ignored her and her husband and opened the cupboard door, bracing himself for what he was going to see. A small, skinny child of two lay curled up in the corner with a ratty old blanket. The sickening smell of dirty diaper hit his nose. He gasped at sight of it all. Instantly, a rush of emotions came over him, sorrow for little Harry, anger at the Dursleys for doing this, anger at Dumbledore for leaving him, and guilt for not being to help Harry sooner."Harry?" he said and the child flinched. Remus slid his arms underneath Harry and gently pulled him out, holding him close. He couldn't believe this was Lily and James' happy son of only one year ago. The little boy looked up at him, fear in his once bright green eyes."Sawry," he said inaudibly and he cringed as if expecting a blow. Remus stroked his cheek, and said quietly, "It's okay, Harry. I won't hurt you. I'm here to take you away from here. Okay? Do you want to come with me?"

"About time you're taking it," Vernon muttered. It wasn't a good idea to get Remus' attention. He raised his wand, about to disregard Dumbledore's warning completely. He hated the sight of that man. Reluctantly, he lowered his wand, his levelheaded side causing him to. He hoped they knew enough not to say another word. He wasn't sure he could resist that impulse again. He held Harry close to him and left the house. He wiped the tears off Harry's cheeks, surprised he wasn't flailing in protest not to leave with a stranger.

"Me weavez?" Harry asked uncertainly. His speech wasn't exactly up to speed for a two-year-old. Remus sighed again. He couldn't believe anyone could be so nasty to such a sweet child.

"Yes. You are coming to live with me. Okay, Harry?" Remus smiled. Harry nodded slowly.Arabella met them at he front door of her house, and pulled them in. She looked sorrowfully at little Harry."Poor little thing. Half starved and so sad looking," she muttered, "I suppose you best be off with him, Remus. The ministry will be looking for him if Dumbledore didn't sort that out yet." "Sort what out?" Remus asked."Well, the minister doesn't exactly approve of you taking Harry. Dumbledore will have that fixed soon, though. But, just in case, you'd better leave now. They'll know Harry has been taken from his home," Mrs. Figg said, holding out the Floo pot."Thank you, Mrs. Figg," Remus said before taking some and throwing it into the flames. As they turned a bright green, Harry began to bawl, frightened by it."Just go now. He'll be fine," Mrs. Figg urged.Remus held Harry tightly as he stepped into the flames, saying loudly, "Remus's Cottage!" They were whisked away past a hundred fireplaces and finally emerged into the kitchen of their new home. Harry was crying harder than ever.  
"Shh. It's okay Harry. It's all over now," Remus tried to comfort him, rubbing his back soothingly. The cries stopped abruptly and Harry pushed away."Sawry. Cries no mo. Don hih," Harry said. Remus had to take a second to understand what was said."Harry, it's okay. I'm not going to hit you. No one is ever going to hurt you again," Remus said, "I won't let them."

Harry wrapped his short arms around Remus' neck tightly. Remus hugged him back gently and brushed his black hair away from his face. On his forehead was a thin white scar. He knew where that came from.

"Let's go upstairs and get you cleaned up," Remus said softly. He carried Harry upstairs into his bedroom and set him on the changing table."This is your room now," he said, taking out the things needed for diaper changing. "My," Harry said, eyes wide and a small smile on his face. It made Remus sad that such a small thing as having a bedroom, was so great to Harry. He should expect to have such things as that."Yes, Harry. Yours. Now let's see if Remus can remember how to do this," Remus said. He had done it a few times before, when he and Sirius used to steal Harry away from his parents for the day."Remy," Harry said."That's right. I'm Remy," Remus smiled, "Maybe I should just clean you up and give you a bath." As Remus undressed him, he was appalled to see bruises all over his body. He pulled out his wand to heal them. Being a werewolf was a self injuring hobby, so Remus had often ended up in need of healing afterwards. He decided to learn some of the practice himself, so he didn't need to go see a healer after every full moon."Owie," Harry said, indicating a mark on his arm. "How about I fix them for you," Remus said.  
"Wuh that is?" Harry asked, looking curiously at the wand."Well, it's to do magic. Like, now, I can fix all your owies so they don't hurt anymore. You'll never have any more of these owies again," Remus said as he fixed any bruises, bumps, and scrapes. Harry smiled happily. "Awl betta," he said. Remus picked him up and took him into the bathroom to get a bath. As the tub filled with warm water, he called for Laertes. Harry giggled when he saw the elf."Could you cook something Harry to eat? I'm not sure what they eat at his age. There's a book in his room that I got, though," Remus said."Laertes knows how to cook for Master Harry. And what is Master Remus liking?" Laertes asked."Whatever you make will be fine," Remus smiled appreciatively."Yes, sir," the house elf bowed and left. After he gave Harry his bath, Remus dressed him in the robes he'd bought for him at the store in Diagon Alley. Already, Harry looked much better. Remus took him downstairs and put him in the high chair."Ready to eat, Harry?" Remus asked. Harry nodded eagerly. When a big plate of food was placed in front of him, he looked at it in doubt."Udleys?" he said."No, Harry. This is yours. No more Dudley. No more Aunt and Uncle. Just Remy and Harry," Remus said. He handed Harry a sippy cup of milk. Harry smiled again."No go back?" he asked uncertainly."Never. You're going to stay with me," Remus said. Harry banged his hands on the high chair happily, causing his sippy cup to fall to the floor with a clatter. Harry's smile washed away quickly and he looked from the puddle of milk slowly spreading across the floor to Lupin fearfully, tears filling his eyes."It's okay, Harry. It's okay. Look, we'll just clean it up. Don't worry," Remus said quickly, before Harry began to cry. He pointed his wand at the floor and the milk disappeared, "See. All better.""No hate me?" Harry asked timidly. He was cringing away a bit."No Harry. I love you," Remus picked him out of the high chair and hugged him. Harry hugged back, though apprehensively at first."Love my Remy," he said quietly. Remus smiled at hearing that and put him back in his chair."You go ahead and eat. I'll get you a new cup," Remus picked up the sippy cup and rinsed it in the sink, refilling it with milk. He placed it in front of an eagerly eating Harry, "There you are."Harry sipped it and looked at Remus curiously and asked, "Wuh dis?""Milk. Haven't you ever had milk before?" Remus asked, though he knew that answer."Udley milk. Arry wauh," Harry said, cherishing the new treat. Remus thought he would get used to finding these things out, but each new revelation only sent a new wave of sympathy, guilt, and anger through him."Here, you can have as much milk as you want. Food, too. If you're ever hungry or thirsty, you just tell me. You never have to be afraid of me. Okay Harry?" "Okey," Harry said, through a mouthful of potato. Remus laughed, wondering whether there was more food in his mouth or dripping from his chin. He didn't seem to have very good aim with a spoonful of food yet. Remus started on his own plate of food.Once finished, Remus took Harry upstairs to go to bed, after washing his face. It was pretty late and Harry's yawns assured Remus it was time for bed. He put Harry in his crib."Night, Harry," Remus said softly. As soon as he turned the lights out, a loud wails issued from Harry. He hurriedly flicked the lights back on and rushed to Harry's side."What's wrong Harry? You don't like the dark?" Remus asked."Prease...no...weave," he said through his sobs."I won't go anywhere. I can stay here with you tonight," Remus dried Harry's eyes with the corner of the blanket. Harry's sobs faded, but he wouldn't take his eyes off Remus, as if afraid he would disappear if he shut them."Go to sleep, Harry. I'm not leaving," Remus said. He shut the lights off and magicked a small stuffed animal to glow as a nightlight. He settled himself in a rocking chair beside Harry's crib. It wasn't very long before Harry's eyelids drooped shut and he slept peacefully. And even less time after that when Remus' own eyelids fell shut.Lupin was awoken fairly early, well earlier than was usual for him, by Harry's excited squeals. He was smiling and giggling in his crib, obviously pleased about something. Remus leaned in and took him out of the crib."Why are you so happy, now?" he asked cheerfully."My Remy stills here," he said."I told you I would be. I'm not going to leave you," Remus said, as he began to dress Harry. "I hungy," Harry said warily, waiting for the response he would get with shut eyes."We'll have to get something for you to eat, then. Eggs and bacon," Remus set Harry on his feet, "Can you walk by yourself?" Remus wasn't exactly sure at what age babies began to walk, but thought they should know by this age. Harry nodded and began wobbling across the room. He reached the door and stuck one of his chubby hands out to Remus. Remus took it and walked him down into the kitchen.Laertes already had eggs, bacon, and toast laid out for them, Remus smiled as he saw it. He'd forgotten he wouldn't be doing the cooking any more. He put Harry in his high chair and sat beside him. As they finished their morning meal and Remus was clearing the table (to Laerte's dismay), Albus emerged from the fireplace. Harry let out a gasp of surprise, but didn't cry. He eyed the man apprehensively. "Hello, Remus. And hi there, Harry," Albus greeted."Laertes, will you take Harry upstairs? Give him some toys to play with. I need to talk with Albus," Remus said, eyes narrowed. He set Harry on his feet. Laertes took his hand and began to lead Harry away. Harry looked at Remus timidly."It's okay, Harry. You go with Laertes. He'll play with you," Remus said. He waited to hear the soft click of Harry's door being shut, before he rounded on Albus."YOU LEFT HIM THERE! LEFT HIM WITH THOSE- THOSE PEOPLE! HOW COULD YOU DO IT? THEY'RE HORRIBLE! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU!" he yelled, letting his anger fly at Albus. This was definitely out of character for Remus, who rarely, if ever raised his voice."Remus, I had reasons. Of which, I shall tell you now," Albus said. Remus forced himself to lower his voice and sat down at the table."Do you know where he slept for the past year? A cupboard! Know what he lived off of? Some water and the occasional scrap of food! Rarely changed or cleaned! And they hit him! Hit him!" Remus said angrily. Albus sighed and lowered his head."I am sorry. I wish I had known sooner," he said."Tell me why you left him there," Remus bid."I'll start with the fact that Lily had died in order to protect Harry, as you know. Something happened that Voldemort could not harm Harry, which is why he survived. This magic was used to protect Harry. As long as he stayed in the care of his relatives, he was safe. I could not risk taking him away, but as it has gotten to a bad point, I thought it best if he left. I have put up many wards on this house and tried in every way possible to make it safe. Few know that Harry resides with you. It will be kept like that," Albus explained."But surely, Voldemort is gone?" Remus said, though he wasn't so sure he wasn't."For the present, yes. But I have no doubt he will return one day. He is not gone forever," Albus sighed, "The safety of you and Harry has been taken care of. And arrangements have been made for Harry to stay at Hogwarts the afternoon of your transformation until the next evening or the day after that. Madam Pomfrey, myself or the other professors will watch over him."

"Thank you," Remus said quietly.

"Remus, I trust you will make a good parent for Harry. If you need any help, do not hesitate to call on me," Albus said, "For now, I must go. I have many things to attain to at the moment. I will stop by to check on you two before the full moon."They bid each other good bye and Albus left. Remus went upstairs to find Harry giggling happily as Laertes magicked a stuffed cat to dance about the room, as he cleaned. Remus was glad Harry was laughing like a normal child should.

"Thank you, Laertes," Remus said. Laertes bowed in response and left the room. Remus sat on the floor with Harry and played with him for a long while. Before he knew it, it was almost noon. Remus scooped Harry up into his arms.

"How about we go for a walk after lunch?" he asked. Harry smiled and squealed. Remus took that as a yes. Remus grabbed an outfit from Harry's dresser and changed him out of his pajamas. Remus took Harry downstairs and they ate a quick lunch of sandwiches. Before leaving Remus questioned Laertes a bit about where they were and what was around the area. He found out that they lived in Carnet. And that not very far from there was a small muggle town. Remus decided he would take Harry into town to a park Laertes had told him about.

Harry held Remus' hand as they walked along the dirt road that led to the town. It wasn't far that they had to walk until they reached the park. Harry stood behind Remus shyly as he watched the other children playing. "Don't you want to go play?" Remus asked him. Harry shook his head."Go ahead. You can go play with the other kids. Look how much fun they're having," Remus said. Harry looked longingly at the others playing in the sand box. "You comes with me?" he asked."I'll come with you," Remus said. He walked over to the sandbox with Harry. A small sandy haired boy walked up to Harry. He looked a little older than Harry. "I'm Mason. What's your name?" he asked."Harry," he answered shyly."Want to play with me, Harry?" the boy asked."Okay," Harry said. Remus smiled to himself as he watched Harry sit with the other boy. He walked over to a bench near the sand box and sat down to watch. Harry and Mason played for a while until a man, Remus assumed was Mason's father came."Time to go, Mason," he said."Okay, daddy," the little boy said."Say goodbye to your friend," he said."Bye, Harry," the boy said."Bye, Mason," Harry said. "Okay, let's go," the man said. Mason took his hand."Can we comeback tomorrow, daddy?" the boy asked as they walked away."Sure," the man said, scooping the giggling boy up onto his shoulders.Harry stood and walked over to Remus. He climbed up into Remus' lap."Are you ready to go home, now, too?" Remus asked. Harry nodded. Remus picked him up and started walking home. Harry's head lay nestled in his neck. "Remy," Harry said."Yeah, Harry?" Remus said."Who my daddy?" Harry asked curiously. Remus stopped, he was so taken aback by the question. He had no idea how to answer that."Udley has daddy. Mason has daddy. I want daddy. You be mys," Harry said, wrapping his short arms around Remus neck. Remus hugged him back."Okay, Harry. I'll be your daddy," he said. Harry planted a wet kiss on Remus' cheek."Love my daddy,"Harry said."And I love my Harry," Remus said. 


	2. Chapter 1 Vanishing Kid

Chapter One - Vanishing Kid  
  
Nearly eight years had passed since Remus had taken in his best friends' son, and his life had changed significantly, all for the better. Every day was a new mischief with Harry. He felt his life was better for having the child in it. Moving pictures on the wall showed just how much time had passed. Eight years ago, pictures of a baby boy with raven hair and brilliant green eyes hung around the house. Now they showed a thin young boy riding a broom, playing with friends at the park, at his first Quidditch game with Remus. The house held many signs of the child living there.  
Harry now lay in his bed, peacefully asleep. Remus entered his bedroom and it was his voice that made the first noise of the day.

"Time to get up, Harry."

Harry slowly opened his eyes and yawned. "Morning dad," Harry said.

"Good morning. Sleep good?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered.

"Breakfast is almost ready. Get up and dressed for school," Remus said and left. Because they lived in a muggle town, Harry went to the local muggle school. Remus had even gotten a job working at the high school. His monthly disappearances went unnoticed thanks to Dumbledore's great idea, involving Ms. Emmeline Vance and some polyjuice potion.

Harry crawled out of bed and once he was dressed, went downstairs into the kitchen. He sat down as Remus set a plate of eggs in front of him. "How about I just stay home today?" Harry tried.

"You only have a few more weeks to go. Then you have three months off. I think you can wait," Remus said.

"I had to give it a try," Harry shrugged.

"I've got to get to work. I'll see you when I get home," Remus said, "Bye."

"Bye," Harry said. Once Remus left, he pushed his breakfast aside and took his math book out of book bag. He was always one to put homework off to last minute. Once he finished his work, he left the house. He walked down the road into town.

"Hey, Potter!" a familiar sneering voice called as Harry walked past the park. He ignored the boy and continued walking, hoping he would just be left alone today. He stopped and turned around when he heard several sets of footsteps behind him. A tall blond boy stood with three others behind him. They all wore nasty grins and had cigarettes in hand or hanging from their mouth.

"It's rude to ignore people when they're talking to you, Harry. I thought we were friends?" the blond boy asked.

"Maybe he thinks he's too good to be our friend," one of the boys said.

"Is that it? Too good to talk to us?" the blond boy asked. Harry said nothing.

"Answer him!" one of the boys pushed him.

"No," Harry said.

"No, you won't answer him?" the boy asked.

"No, I don't think I'm too good to talk to you guys," Harry muttered.

"And you're not too good to empty your pockets into my hand?" the blond smirked.

"Come on Mason. Leave me the hell alone," Harry said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Mason grabbed him by the collar. His face was an inch from Harry's. Mason was three years older than Harry and much bigger. It was the same Mason Harry knew from the park eight years ago and had been best friends with for five years, until Mason started at the public high school. There, Mason got new friends and a new attitude, which included beating up on younger kids, stealing, and causing any kind of trouble he could.

"What was that?" he asked threateningly, narrowing his eyes.

"N-Nothing," Harry said. Mason threw him back and Harry landed hard on the pavement. The boys laughed at Harry, sprawled on the ground. A surge of anger rose in him. It must have shown on his face, because one of the boys brought attention to it.

"Look. He's getting mad. I think he might cry," he mocked.

"Shut up!" Harry yelled.

"And what are you going to do if we don't, ickle Harry? Mason asked. Harry showed him exactly what he was going to do. He kicked one foot up and it landed squarely in Mason's groin. A funny noise escaped his mouth as he fell to his knees. Harry jumped up and bolted down the street before any of the boys could register what had just happened. He had only a few seconds head start on them and still two blocks to his school.

"You're screwed, Potter!" one of them yelled. Harry ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He thought he could make it. And amazingly, he did. The other boys ran after him all the way to the front of the school.  
"Just wait until after school, Potter. You're dead," one boy called threateningly as Harry entered the building. Mason wasn't with them then, but Harry knew he would be with them after school, waiting right outside the building for Harry.

"What happened?" asked Jermaine, a friend of Harry's, entering the school behind him.

"I kicked Mason in the balls," Harry said. He'd have laughed or grinned, if it weren't for the fact that he was going to have to deal with him after school.

"You kicked him in his balls?" Jermaine asked, shocked.

"Yeah, and now they're going to beat the shit out of me after school," he said grimly.

"Look on the bright side of things," Jermaine shrugged.

"What bright side?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Well, I hear the food at the hospital isn't half so bad anymore," Jermaine said jokingly.

"What a bright side," Harry muttered.

"Hey, at least we won't have to worry about any Mason juniors running around in the future, now will we?" Jermaine said, grinning.

All day, Harry's mind was kept busy with the thought of Mason and his friends after school. He didn't pay attention in class and he knew he didn't do half as good on his math test as he could have. He now doubted what a good idea it was to kick the older boy. He knew he'd be sure it wasn't worth it after school was out and he was face to face with him.

"Mr. Potter?" Harry snapped out of his thoughts as he heard his name called by his teacher, Mrs. Burge.

"The answer's Benjamin Franklin," whispered drew, the boy that sat next to Harry in class.

"Benjamin Franklin," Harry said.

"Three hundred and twelve divided by seven is Benjamin Franklin?" she asked, giving him a stern look. Drew fell into silent fits of laughter beside him. Had he not been so preoccupied, he'd have made it a point to pay him back.

"Sorry," he said to his teacher.

"You will remain after class, Mr. Potter," Mrs. Burge said. "Yes, ma'am," he said. Once she walked away, he dropped his head onto his desk rather hard. There went his last chance at avoiding Mason and his friends. They were let out ten minutes before the younger students and Harry would have had a chance to get home before they got out, but now he'd probably get out just as they did.

After class he had to endure minutes that seemed hours of his teacher lecturing on how he should be paying attention. When he was dismissed, he took his time leaving. He knew the high school had already dismissed five minutes earlier, and so Mason would just be waiting for him. And sure enough, when he walked outside, Mason and his friends were standing right there.

Harry again make a run for it, hoping to be able to make it down the street to the high school where Remus would be. He wasn't as lucky this time as he was in the morning. He nearly made it to the school, though, when he was tackled to the ground. His knees and arms stung as they scraped against the rough pavement. Harry struggled to get away, but Mason, being almost twice his size, easily held him down. Mason's friends circled the struggling two, laughing and egging Mason on.

"Get off of me!" Harry yelled and was surprised when Mason let him go and got to his feet, Harry did the same.

"Are you going to cry, Potter?" Mason asked mockingly, "You got a little booboo? Gonna cry like a little girl?" The other boys laughed. Harry clenched his fists, anger rising.

"No where to run, now. No daddy to protect you now. No mommy either, I suppose," he said tauntingly.

"Shut up!" Harry yelled. Anger was again coursing through him, slowly turning into fury.

"Your mommy and daddy are dead, aren't they? Poor little Harry. Stuck with that git, Mr. Lupin, as a father," Mason goaded. Harry held back threatening tears. He had told Mason about his parents when they were friends. It hurt to have it used against him like that. "I think he's going to cry!" one of the boys called out.

"Poor parentless Harry," Mason said, "You're gonna cry, right? Cause you got a booboo and no mommy to kiss it and make it better?" "Shut the hell up!" Harry roared and he sent a furious punch to Mason's face. Blood spurted from the tall boy's nose. He glared at Harry, heatedly. Fear replaced Harry's anger as Mason raised his fist. Harry backed away. The cold, angry look in his eyes scared Harry. Mason was about to hit him, when suddenly, his fist disappeared. Mason screamed. His friends only stared unbelievingly at the spot where his fist had once been. There was no blood or open flesh, like it was sliced off. It looked like it had never been there at all. Then, slowly, his arm began to vanish. Harry gasped as he realized that it was him that did it. He hadn't meant to. He had just lost control. Mason's three friends ran away towards the high school, most likely to get help.

"What the hell happened?" he cried, "Oh my god! What happened?"

Harry ran away from him. not stooping until he was home. He ran up to his room, slammed his door shut, and collapsed on his bed. He had done underage magic. It was against the law for wizards under seventeen to do magic. He wouldn't be allowed into Hogwarts now. He hadn't even gotten the letter yet and he was going to be expelled. What if what he did was serious enough to have him sent to Azkaban? Remus had told him about the wizarding prison before and he didn't want to go there.

---------------------------

"Two-hundred word essay on 'The Crucible' due Thursday," Remus said to the students before him. A general groan was heard throughout the room. The bell rang signaling the end of the school day and the students all gladly left the school for the fresh air and freedom outside.

Remus sat at his desk to grade the papers he had collected that day. He was only at it for a few minutes, when a loud scream was heard through his open window. Remus stood from his desk and went to the window. He couldn't see anything, though, over the high wall that enclosed the school grounds. He would have passed it off as nothing if it didn't continue. He went left his classroom and headed for the double-doors at the front of the school. He wasn't the only one going out to see what was going on.

"You heard that, too?" asked Mr. White, the Geometry teacher.

"Yes. And so did half the town, I'll bet," Remus said.

Outside, laying on the ground was Mason Romano, a student of Remus's. The left side of his body was missing and continuing to vanish slowly. Remus gasped. A crowd of people was beginning to form around the boy. Remus stepped forward to undo the damage that he knew was done by nothing other than magic. But before he could do anything, several cracks were heard and members from the magical reversal squad appeared. Mason was fixed in a moment by one of the ministry workers. The others began to modify memories.

"Remus! What happened here?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt. Remus knew the man through Dumbledore.

"I'm not sure. But I'm guessing some accidental magic," Remus said.

"And as Harry and you are the only wizards in the area, I'm hoping it was Harry," Kingsley said,

"No need to worry about it. We'll have it all cleared up quickly. This is nothing compared to some of the other stuff. You should have seen the three year old muggle born, last week, that turned her mother into a giraffe when she wouldn't let her watch television."

"So everything will be taken care of here then?" Remus asked.

"No problems," Kingsley assured him.

"I have to get home, now," Remus said. He bid Kingsley goodbye and apparated to his home. As soon as he appeared in his living room, Laertes greeted him.

"Master Harry is upset, sir. He is been up in his room," Laertes said. "Thank you, Laertes," he said. He walked up the stairs and knocked on Harry's bedroom door before going in. Harry was curled up on his bed.

"Harry, are you okay?" Remus asked.

"No," was the muffled response. Remus sat on the edge of the bed where Harry had his face buried into a pillow.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Remus prompted lightly. Harry sat up on the bed to explain. Remus let out a small gasp when he saw Harry's arms. They were all scratched and bloody.  
"Merlin, Harry! What happened? Did Mason do that to you?" Remus asked. "Yeah," Harry said. Remus saw the knees of Harry's jeans were torn and bloody, too.

"These look terrible. We'll have to clean them up before I can heal them," he said. "It's fine. A few scratches aren't going to kill me," Harry said.

"At least go wash them up," Remus said.

"I'm fine," Harry snapped. Remus shook his head exasperatedly but decided to let it go.

"Well, what happened after school today?" he asked.

"It started before," Harry said, "When I was walking to school, him and his friends started with me, as usual. And so he got me mad enough that I kicked him in the- Well, I kicked him."

Remus knew he shouldn't condone the behavior, provoked or not, but he couldn't help the smile that crept across his face. He knew Mason was a trouble-maker and a bully, and most likely deserved it.

"His friends chased me down to the school, " Harry continued, "And one of them said that I was dead after school. So, when school ended, they met me outside the building. I tried to run, but Mason tackled me. That's how I got all these scrapes."

"So that made you mad enough to use wandless magic?" Remus asked.

"No. It was when he started talking about you and my real dad and mum," Harry said, "I hit him and then he was about to hit me back when his arm started just disappearing. I didn't mean to do it, though. I guess I just lost control. I'm sorry."Harry sat looking like he thought he was going to be reprimanded for the incident.

"Don't worry on it. The ministry came and sorted everything out. Mason is back to normal.

Though, I'm not sure if that's a good thing. And the memories were modified. So no one will remember a thing," Remus said.

"So then I'm not expelled from Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Certainly not," Remus answered, "Even the best of wizards let their emotions get the better of them sometimes. You'll learn to control it in time."

Remus looked at the scrapes on Harry's arms and knees. Harry must have noticed him looking, because he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'll go clean them up," he said, laughing. He left the room and when he came back, the cuts were cleaned up and Remus saw that they didn't look half so bad now.

"Would you please let me heal those, now?" Remus asked.

"No," Harry said firmly, looking over the scrapes that ran up his arms, "They look cool."  
Remus grinned as he remembered one of his best friends saying the same thing many years ago. Remus had suggested James get a cut on his arm healed at the hospital wing to which he responded, 'No way. It looks cool'

"I know you'll tire of hearing it, but in a lot of ways, you're like your father," Remus said. Harry smiled. Remus had made the decision when Harry first asked Remus to be his dad that he should also know about his mother and true father, not only think of Remus as his father. Remus loved Harry like he was he was his own son and he knew Harry loved him like he was his father, but he knew he couldn't lead Harry into thinking he was his father.

"Tell me about him and my mum when you all were at Hogwarts," Harry said. Remus smiled and began telling about the marauder's era at Hogwarts. Harry never tired of hearing about it and Remus never tired of telling.


	3. Chapter 2 Diagon Alley

Chapter Two - Diagon Alley

By the time summer holidays began, the incident with the vanishing kid had blown over and was practically forgotten. School was done, for which Harry was glad. He'd much rather be out riding his broom or with his friends. And the fact that he could now avoid Mason and his gang was another reason to be happy. The older boys preferred staying downtown, where there was more chance for causing trouble.

Ten-year-old Harry Potter made his way groggily into the kitchen where the smell of good food met his nose. He sat at the table across from Remus, who was reading the Daily Prophet. Remus lowered the paper and smiled.

"Good Morning. Or should I say afternoon?" he said. Harry grinned and stifled a yawn. He glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was already a quarter to twelve. "Afternoon, I s'pose," he said.

"After lunch, we're going to Diagon Alley. We both need some new robes and muggle clothes," Remus said.

"And the new Nimbus 2000, right?" Harry asked.

"Nice try," Remus said, as Laertes set a plate of food before him and Harry.  
"Thanks Laertes," Harry said.

"Yes. Thank you, Laertes," Remus said. The little elf bowed and left the room. Harry was about to begin eating when a familiar tapping noise met his ears.

"Harry, could you get the post?" Remus asked from behind the paper. Harry stood and walked over to the window above the sink. He pushed it open and in flew a grey eagle owl. It perched itself on the back of Harry's vacated seat and extended a leg with a letter attached. Harry took the letter from it. A huge grin spread across his face as he saw that it bore the Hogwarts seal. He began to tear open the letter, but was stopped by an angry peck to his finger.

"I expect he wants a reward for delivering the letter," Remus laughed as Harry swatted the bird away from pecking him again. Harry took a box of owl treats from the cupboard and gave a few to the bird.

"Bloody thing," he muttered under his breath.

"Hogwarts letter?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Harry said tearing it open. He pulled out the first piece of parchment and read:

Dear Mr. Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your return owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall Deputy HeadmistressHarry smiled broadly. He couldn't believe he was finally going to be going to Hogwarts. Remus had been telling him stories about it since he could remember. He passed the letter to Remus and took out the next piece of parchment. It was a list of the supplies he would need for school. After a quick look at it, he handed that too to Remus, along with the train ticket.

"I can't believe you're starting at Hogwarts already," Remus said.

"Less than two months away," Harry said and rolled his eyes when it looked like Remus was going to cry.

"Don't start that. You've still got me for seven more years," Harry reminded him.

"Lucky me," he joked, "We'll get your things in Diagon Alley today. I guess we'll be a little longer than I thought we would be."

After lunch, Harry went upstairs to shower and get dressed. Then he and Remus traveled by floo powder to Diagon Alley. Harry emerged from the fireplace, soot-covered as was customary. A quick wave of Remus' wand fixed that, though.

"First stop. Gringotts," Remus said and Harry followed him down the cobbled street and into the tall stone building. Remus presented one of the goblins with the key to his and Harry's account. He led Harry and Remus to one of the carts.

Harry always liked the wild cart ride down the winding dark paths. He always kept an eye out for dragons. He heard they were used to guard some vaults and hoped to see one. As they passed a dark cavern below, Harry stuck his head over the edge to look. Remus lightly cuffed him around the head and he pulled his head back in quickly.

"Why must you always do that?" he asked. "Sorry," he said, hiding a smirk at his father's protectiveness. He sat back and watched as the cart took various turns and forks. He had the first good many memorized, having been down so often, but there were so many that it was impossible to memorize even half of the route.

The cart slowed to a stop and the goblin got out. He opened the vault with the key and Remus took from it a fair amount of galleons. Another fast cart ride later, and they were back at the main floor of Gringotts. When they stepped back outside, the light seemed very bright after being inside the dark wizarding bank.

"We'll get your school robes first," Remus said. He and Harry walked across the street to Madam Maulkin's. A tall brown haired witch fitted Harry for his school robes while Remus picked out some casual robes for himself.

In the back of the shop was a selection of muggle clothes for witches and wizards that needed them. Harry grabbed a few pairs of loose fitting jeans and plain black, gray, and white t-shirts. He didn't wear much color, figuring he already drew enough attention in the wizarding world just being who he was. It was funny, he thought, how he could be so famous in one place and such a no one in another. In the muggle world, if you said the name Harry Potter, people would ask, 'who the hell is that?' but in the wizarding world, they lined up to shake his hand. He hated that attention, though. He was famous because Voldemort killed his parents and disappeared after. Why should that make him famous?

Remus paid for their purchase and they left the shop to go to the next for quills, parchment, and ink. Then to the next for a telescope, glass vials, and cauldron. In the apothecary, he stocked up on potion ingredients. The next shop in the row along the street was the Magical Menagerie. "I think it's time I had my own owl now, dad," Harry said, stopping at the window and looking in. "You can use Rifta," Remus said and kept walking. Rifta was the family owl. She was going on ten or eleven years and Harry was sure the far trip to Hogwarts just might do her off. He pointed this out to Remus. It wasn't very hard to talk Remus into letting him get his own owl. After no more than a minute, Remus gave in.

"Thanks," Harry said, hurrying into the shop. He walked up and down the rows of birds, looking for the best one. He had supposed he would get an owl, but when he saw the sleek black raven, he knew that was what he wanted. The bird trilled softly at him and nuzzled its beak against his fingers when he slid them in the cage. He picked up the cage and took it over to where Remus was looking at an amber barn owl. "I found one," Harry said. Remus turned to see and frowned at the bird.

"A Raven?" he said. Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"I don't know, Har. They're really hard to train," he said.

"Not this one, sir," a blond witch clad in navy blue robes, the owner, said, "Sly has already been trained by his previous owner. His old master passed away only a month ago." "How old is this bird?" Remus asked.

"Six months," she answered, "Ravens are very smart, especially this one. And they make very loyal pets." "I don't know about a Raven," he said.

"Please, dad," Harry implored. Remus thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Okay," he conceded. The raven gave a short trill as if it understood. The shop owner gave Remus the bird's papers and a guarantee of satisfaction and Remus paid. Harry walked down the alley with his new pet, proudly. He had originally wanted to name the bird himself but he was happy with the name that had been already given to her, Sly.

"Book shop, now," Remus said, "I'll go in and get them. They won't allow you to take Sly inside." "Okay. I'll wait at Florean's. It's right next door," Harry said. Remus gave him a few sickles for an ice cream and went inside the shop. Harry ordered a chocolate sundae and sat down to eat it. Sitting at the table next to him were a few older boys, admiring their friends new broom.

Only a couple feet away from the ice cream shop was the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Harry'd always wanted to see what was down there but Remus forbade him even to go near it. He watched two red haired boys off to the side of the alley talking quietly. They looked around quickly before sneaking towards the entrance of the Alley. But as soon as they stepped foot off the cobbled street, an angry looking stout woman appeared out of the book shop.

"Fred! George! What do you think you're doing?" she yelled, seizing each boy by an ear and dragging them away. A young red haired girl and boy about Harry's age followed behind sniggering, while an older boy walked beside the mother, tutting. Harry laughed at the boys being led away while their mother scolded.

"I told you not to step foot near the place! A dozen times over, I've warned you! But do you two ever listen? Never had problems with Charlie, Bill, or Percy!" she continued on up the alley.  
"Just having a peak," one of the twins muttered.

"Wait until I tell your father about this!" her voice faded as she walked away.  
"Can I join you?" came the voice of Remus as he sat with Harry. He had a bag in one hand and an ice cream in the other.

Their last stop of the afternoon was Mr. Ollivander's for Harry's wand. Harry had been most envious for this. They stepped inside the shop and Harry thought he could feel the place giving off a magic aura. The walls were lined with shelves of hundreds of different wands.

"Mr. Potter!" came a low voice, making Harry jump. An old man, Mr. Ollivander, stepped out from among the shelves, "At last, we meet. I was awaiting the day I would see you."

Harry said nothing. The man's eyes did the usual flicker to his scar and rested on his emerald eyes. Harry was relieved when he caught sight of Remus and looked away. His silvery eyes were rather disturbing.

"Ah, Mr. Remus Lupin. Phoenix feather, maple, nine and a half inches. I remember every wand I've ever sold," he said. He turned back to Harry, "Your mother, ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. But your father. He preferred mahogany. Eleven inches. Excellent wand for Transfiguration." Again, Harry said nothing.

"Which is your wand hand?" Mr. Ollivander asked.

"My right," Harry said.

"Let's get you measured," he said, taking a yellow roll from his pocket. He began measuring Harry and within seconds, the tape was going on its own, while Mr. Ollivander brought over a wand for Harry to try.

"Unicorn hair. Maple. Ten and a half inches," he said. He handed the wand to Harry but it was snatched back in an instant.

"No. No. No. That's not it," he muttered and brought out another. Again, it was snatched back. Another was brought out, and that, too, was snatched back. Dozens of wands made their way into Harry's hands and out again.

"Yes. He's a tricky one. Very hard. Let's see," he said, seemingly happy about the difficulty of finding a wand for Harry. He brought out another and another. The pile of tried wands beside Harry grew ever larger.

"I wonder..." Harry heard Mr. Ollivander say quietly. He brought over a dusty, tattered box and opened it, "Let us see, Mr. Potter. It would be ever so curious." Harry took the wand and instantly felt the magic course through him. Red and Gold sparks shot out the end as he gave it a wave.

"Very curious. Very curious indeed," he whispered. Harry and Remus exchanged puzzled looks. He continued to mutter as he put the wand in it's box and wrapped it in brown paper.  
"Sorry, sir, but what's curious?" Harry asked.

"That wand Mr. Potter has a phoenix feather core. The phoenix who gave the feather gave only one other feather. And the other wand that holds it is owned by none other than the one who gave you that," he pointed a finger at the thin scar running down Harry's head. Harry involuntary shuddered.

"This wand is the brother of Voldemort's?" Harry asked. Mr. Ollivander winced at the saying of his name. Harry had been taught by Dumbledore that he should not fear to say that name.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold. Yew, thirteen and a half inches. I'm afraid that wand went into the wrong hands. I'd never have sold if I'd known what it would do," he said, "We should expect great things from you Mr. Potter. For he-who-must-not-be-named had done great things. Yes they were terrible, but great." Harry shivered. He found Mr. Ollivander to be rather creepy.

"How much will it be, Mr. Ollivander?" Remus asked. Harry was grateful. He wanted to leave the store. Remus paid for the wand and they left. Harry didn't say anything as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron and his step didn't even lag when they passed the Quidditch Shop with the Nimbus 2000 on display in the window. When they arrived home, Harry was about to go upstairs to his room, but Remus stopped him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Fine," Harry shrugged.

"If I were to believe that, I'd be crowned worst parent," Remus said, "Now, come on. What's up? You've been like this since Ollivander's." "So then you know what's bothering me," Harry said.

"I have the general idea. But why don't you tell me exactly?" Remus prompted.

"I want you to tell me the whole story," he said, "Everything that happened. Like why Voldemort killed my parents and why I'm famous because of it."

-----------------------------Remus sighed. He knew this would come. They day he would have to explain everything to Harry and not just give him the broad explanation. He motioned for Harry to sit down and took the seat opposite him.

"From the beginning Remus. Everything," Harry said. Remus nodded. He knew he shouldn't do it, but he skipped the actual beginning of the story. The part with Sirius and Peter. He didn't need to know that. Not now. Maybe never.

"It started a long time ago, I suppose. When Voldemort came into power. That was about twenty years ago now. We were in our third year. Dumbledore started a group that fought Voldemort. Your parents were part of it," Remus said.

"Were you?" Harry asked.

"Yes," he answered, "This group fought Voldemort. Your parents had battled with him three times and had come out the better in all three, and others had done the same. For some reason, Voldemort picked out your parents specifically to be murdered. Through spies, we found out beforehand and tried in so many ways to protect them, but we failed. Once Voldemort decided to kill someone, he did it."

"Y-You don't know why, though?" Harry asked. It was obvious he was fighting back tears. Remus tried to hug him, but Harry stopped him, "There's more. I know it. How did he lose his power? Was it something my mum or dad did?"

"I guess it was your mother that did something. Your father tried to fight him off. He told your mother to take you and hide. Voldemort killed him and went after your mother and you. Your mother died trying to protect you. According to Dumbledore, it did something to ensure your safety from him. When Voldemort tried to kill you next, the curse backfired on him and he lost his all power and life. He tried to kill you, but failed. That's why you're famous, Harry. You're the only person to survive once Voldemort tried to kill them. It was you that ended his reign of power."

"M-me?" Harry asked. Remus nodded. The tears Harry was holding back now fell down his face and he let Remus pull him into a hug this time. After a few minutes, Harry pulled away, slightly embarrassed.

"Are you alright now?" Remus asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. Remus let it go, though he wasn't sure Harry was.

"Is masters ready for dinner?" Laertes asked, entering the kitchen.

"Yes, please," Remus said. After a supper that Harry barely ate, he went upstairs to his room, claiming to be tired. Remus cleared the table of dishes and put them in the sink, before going up to bed himself.

-----------------------------Harry awoke suddenly with a shrill cry. Again, he'd had one of those dreams with the flash of green light and screaming. He lay in a small, dark enclosed place cringing into the corner as footsteps pounded down the stairs above him.

A moment later, a door was flung open and dim light shown in. Harry cowered away further into the corner. It was no use as an arm reached in and pulled him out by the leg. A large angry face was before him, yelling. "Boy! You woke Dudley again with that damned screaming!" Harry received a slap to his face.

"I tell you, I won't it!" the man made a fist and throw it into his side with enough force to make Harry see stars. He whimpered and tried to cower away. The man threw him back into the enclosed space, slamming shut the door, to complete the total darkness. Harry curled up and cried softly into the raggedy blankets.

-----------------------------Remus was awoken by loud, piercing screams that came from down the hall, from Harry's bedroom. He jumped out of bed, pulled on his robe, and ran down the hall. It wasn't that infrequently that he was awaken like this. Only a few weeks ago, he had been awoken twice in one night. Harry would say little to nothing about his nightmare, and Remus would stay with him until he fell asleep or sometimes all night.

He was at Harry's bedroom in seconds. He opened the door and saw Harry on the floor, curled up into the corner of his room.

"Harry?" he walked over to the boy and put a hand on his back, Harry flinched.

"Please! Don't!" he shrieked. He buried his face further into his hands and cried harder.

"Harry, it's me. I'm here," Remus said. Harry looked up at him and blinked. Then he wrapped his arms around Remus.

"Dad," he cried into Remus' shoulder. Remus held him close, rubbing his back soothingly. "It was the bad man," Harry said childishly. He would never tell Remus about this dream, just that it was 'the bad man'.

"Calm down. It was only a dream. Dreams can't hurt you, remember. They aren't real," Remus tried to comfort him.

"But I think it is real," Harry sobbed, "It's real. I felt it." "What do you mean you felt it?" Remus asked.

"I mean, when he hurt me, I felt it. And I felt the darkness, and the hate," Harry whispered.

"Harry, I know you don't like to tell me about these dreams, but maybe you should. Maybe I can help you," Remus said. Harry sobbed and nodded into Remus' shoulder.

"It starts where I wake up from a bad dream with green light. I wake up and I'm in this dark spot. It's like a little box. I was crying and I hear loud footsteps and then this door opens and some man drags me out," Harry stopped and took a few breathes before continuing, "He yells at me 'Boy! You woke Dudley again with that damned screaming!' I don't know who Dudley is."

Dudley, Remus thought. He knew who Dudley was. And now he knew who the bad man was. Oh god, how could he have been so blind to it. He should have known what the terrible dreams were.

"The man hits me. He hits me and punches me, then shoves me back in the box and closes it," Harry finished.

Harry started sobbing like mad again into Remus' shoulder.

"Christ, Harry. I never knew. I didn't think you remembered at all. I never wanted you to," Remus said.

"Remember what?" Harry asked. He choked back his tears.

"When your parents died, you didn't come right to here. You were sent, not by my choice, to live with your mum's sister and her husband and son. It had to be like that. No one knew what they were. God, Harry, I'm so sorry," Remus cried. "You never told me?" Harry asked.

"I wanted you to forget. I wanted to forget. We didn't find out what they did until a year and a half later. You were two. I went and took you away to live with me as soon as I found out," Remus said.

"So then the dream was real," Harry said. Remus nodded.

"I'm so sorry," Remus said. Harry said nothing, only cried against Remus, cried himself to sleep. Remus picked up the distraught boy and carried him to his bed. He laid Harry down and pulled up the blankets around him. He sat in the chair beside Harry's bed, knowing it would be unwise to leave him alone for the night.

-----------------------------For a moment, Harry was surprised when he saw Remus sleeping in the chair beside his bed. Usually, he only slept with Harry when he had a nightmare. Then the events of the previous night hit Harry quickly and rather hard. The man in his dreams was his Uncle. His mum had a sister. He was sent to live with her and they abused him when he was a baby.

Quietly, he crawled out of bed. He grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to dress. He grabbed his Cleansweep six from the closet in his room. He needed to get away. He needed to clear his head. A nice, long fly through the woods in the back always did that.

He went downstairs and scribbled a small note to Remus, telling where he'd be and set it on the table. Then he went out into the backyard, mounted his broom, and took off into the early morning sky. The wind whipped at his face, and through his hair.

-----------------------------Remus woke from his very uncomfortable sleep. His neck was stiff and his back ached. He was sleeping in Harry's room again. Another nightmare, but this time Harry told about it and Remus had figured out what it was.. He turned and saw that Harry's bed was empty. He jumped up and immediately regretted it, as a pain shot up his back. He'd forgotten to put a comforting charm on the chair last night. It slipped his mind, naturally, with all else that happened.

"Harry!" he called as he walked out of the room. He checked the bathroom and his own room for him. He walked down the stairs. Harry wasn't in the living room. What if he ran away? What if all that information was too much for him to handle yet? Remus thought frantically. He opened the door to the study and looked. No Harry in there either. Them he went into the kitchen and when he found it empty, his heart jumped into his throat. He was ready to call and have a team of aurors looking for him when he saw the piece of paper on the table.

Dad, Out for a broom ride. Be home by lunch.  
HarryRemus sighed with relief when he read it. He should have known Harry wouldn't do something like run away. He remembered how whenever James was feeling stressed or needed to clear his head, he would go for a broom ride. God, how he missed him, Lily, and Peter. And even Sirius. Not the traitor Sirius, bu the old Sirius. The one he knew when he was kid. The Sirius Black he loved. No, he thought, Don't do this. You can't dwell on the past. That part of his life was over and it only caused him pain to think about it.-----------------------------Harry checked the watch on his wrist. It was eleven o'clock. He had been out riding for four hours. Out clearing his head for four long hours. He turned his broom back toward home. He didn't want to have Remus worrying as wasn't so uncommon. He probably panicked when he woke and saw I wasn't in bed, Harry thought. He landed the broom in his backyard and walked to the house. Remus was waiting on the back porch for him. Harry grinned and shook his head.

"How was your fly?" Remus asked.

"Good. I'm a bit hungry, now," Harry said.

"There are sandwiches in on the table," Remus said. Harry set his broom against the wall, and went inside. Remus followed him.

"I guess we need to talk," Harry said, seeing the look on Remus' face.

"If you think we need to," Remus said.

"Look, I'm as okay as I could be with all I found out. It's all in the past. No use dwelling on it, right?" Harry said. "I guess not," Remus said, "You're sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Positive. There's nothing to talk about. You can't change the past and I'm here with you now.

That's all that matters," Harry said.

"And if you ever do need to talk--" "You're always there," Harry finished, "Thanks, dad."


	4. Chapter 3 Birthday

Chapter Three - Birthday

"I'm sorry, Har. It's just my rotten luck that the full moon would fall on the thirtieth," Remus apologized to Harry not for the first time that day. He really did feel bad leaving Harry for his birthday. It would be the second he's missed.

"That's alright," Harry assured him, "And it is not your fault, so stop telling me you're sorry. Until you can control the moon, I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Okay, then," Remus said. He knew Harry was right. There was nothing he could do about it, though he wished there was. When he thought about it, there was something he could have done. Twenty-Five years ago, he could have been more careful. He was only seven, but at seen, he should have been smart enough to stay away from the forest at night. He still remembered that night perfectly. Every detail was etched into his brain forever.

"It's almost time to go, dad," Harry said, drawing him from his reverie. Remus checked his watch. It was almost six o'clock.

"We'd better get going then," he said. Every month, during the full moon, Harry went to stay at Hogwarts while Remus transformed. After the transformation, Remus would use the next day to rest, sometimes longer. The pain and sleep potions given to him by Snape did help a lot, but he still needed that one day to gather himself.

"It's such a hassle going to Hogwarts every month," Harry said, "Maybe I should just stay here an--"

"No," Remus cut him off. He'd never risk having Harry in the same house when he transformed, even if he was confined only to his bedroom with no chance at getting out in his wolf form.  
"But, dad. If you have the Wolfsbane and you can't get free of your room--"

"No," Remus said again, this time firmly enough that Harry didn't object, "I just don't want to take even the slightest risk that I'll hurt you or worse."

Harry nodded, "I'll go get my bag now." He disappeared up the stairs, returning a few minutes later with a bag slung over one shoulder and Sly perched atop the other.

"You take that bird everywhere," Remus commented with a grin.

"He won't let me leave without him. You should have seen how he reacted when I said I was going for the next two nights," Harry said.

"Hold him tight when we floo. You don't want him to fly out of the wrong gate, " Remus said, "We'd better get going now."

"Good evening, Remus, Harry," Dumbledore greeted them when they emerged through the headmaster's fireplace.

"Good evening," both answered.

"It's about time you showed up. Do you think I have all night to waste waiting for you?" came the cold, sarcastic voice of the Hogwarts potions master.

"Good evening to you too, Severus," Remus returned. Snape sent him an icy glare as he handed a goblet of steaming potion to Remus.

"Do have a good night now, Remus," he scoffed.

"Well, thanks to you being kind enough to make this potion for me, I just might," he said. Snape narrowed his eyes at him.

"If it were up to me, I'd let you suffer," he said in a low voice. Before Remus could respond, the headmaster put a stop to their heated banter.

"I believe that is enough," he said softly, though his tone held finality. The two men sent each other a last scowl before turning away. Remus put the steaming goblet to his mouth and drank it quickly, careful not to grimace at the appalling taste Snape was sure to have purposely given it.

"I must be going now," Remus said.

"Let's be thankful for small favors," Remus' wolf hearing picked up the inaudible comment from Snape, but he chose to ignore it.

"I'll see you on Wednesday, Harry," he said, "Good bye."

"Bye, dad," Harry said.

"Bye, Remus," Dumbledore said.  
  
Once back in his home, with no one around, Remus dropped the facade of feeling fine. Since morning he'd felt dead tired and sick, but wouldn't let it show in front of Harry or anyone else. He dragged himself up the stairs and down the hall into his bedroom. A quick wave of his wand magically locked the room securely so he would not get out. He locked his wand in a drawer in his desk. He wouldn't be able to get at it there while he was in his wolf form.

-----------------------------Harry felt Snape's cold gaze fall on him for a brief moment when Remus left. He didn't know why, but for some reason Snape hated his father. Whenever the two saw each other, they would exchange snide comments and scowl at one another. But for as much as Snape hated Remus, he hated Harry twice as much. He never said a word to him, but Harry could sense it.

"Harry would you like some tea?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, thanks, sir," Harry said.

"A lemon drop?" he asked. Harry shook his head. "Severus?" he offered. Snape looked like he'd rather eat dirt.

"I'd rather not," he said, obviously resisting the urge to roll his eyes, "I wonder if I could have a word with you, headmaster? Alone?" He shot a quick lance at Harry, who stood to leave.

"I'm sorry, Harry. Could you give us a moment?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"Yeah. I'm going to go out to visit Hagrid," Harry said.

"Thank you," Dumbledore smiled.

Harry opened he office door and stepped onto the spiral staircase. Down the hall from the headmaster's office, a large hanging tapestry concealed the entrance to a small, simple room that Dumbledore had set up for Harry for his stays at Hogwarts. Harry took his bag to this room and dropped it alongside the bed, before leaving to explore the castle a bit. While school was in, Harry was restricted to a small section of the castle, where students were not allowed, but in the summers, when there were no students at Hogwarts, Harry was free to roam wherever he pleased. His favorite places to go were the Quidditch Pitch, Hagrid's hut, and, a few times, only twice caught, the forbidden forest.

Harry now ventured across the grounds of Hogwarts, Sly perched atop his left shoulder. As soon as he stepped out the giant oak doors, Sly took flight into the dusky sky. Harry laughed as he watched the raven zoom around the castle towers and along the turrets. She circled back to Harry, landing on his outstretched arm.

"Come on, girl. There's someone I know will love to meet you," Harry said. Sly took flight again, following Harry, sometimes circling him as if to say hurry up. Harry walked up to the lighted cabin alongside the edge of the forest and was greeted by Fang's booming barks when he knocked. Hagrid opened the door, pushing Fang back.

"'Arry! How are yeh? Come in!" he greeted.

"Hello Hagrid," Harry said, entering the little cabin. The raven was once again perched atop his shoulder. "This is my new pet, Sly," Harry said.

"She's beau'ful, 'Arry," Hagrid said, admiring the raven. Sly gave a short trill and flew to Hagrid, who took to stroking her soft feathers.

"I got her at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. I was going to get an owl, but then I saw her. It took a bit to convince Remus to let me have her, but he gave in," Harry said.

"Ravens make very loyal pets. They're really smar', too," Hagrid said. Sly seemed to take a liking to Hagrid as he continued with the compliments. "I'm glad yeh came down. I wanted ter ask yeh if yeh wanted ter come wit' me ter Diagon Alley tomorrow for yer birthday instead o' sittin' round the castle?" Hagrid asked.

"That'd be great!" Harry said. "Great. Meet me here tomorrow round noon," Hagrid said.

Harry was about to answer when Fang's growling and snapping interrupted him. It seemed he was getting a bit jealous of Hagrid petting Sly and chased her to hide atop the cupboards.

"Fang! Now, you cut tha' out!" Hagrid held fang down by his collar while Harry collected Sly. She came to him as soon as he called her name. Harry opened the door and let her fly out to wait for him.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then," Harry said.

"I'll walk yeh up ter the castle if yeh want," Hagrid offered.

"No, that's alright. I'll be fine on my own," Harry said.

"Okay then. But yeh stay away from tha' forest this time," Hagrid warned. He had been the one to catch Harry wandering down one of the paths, only a few months ago.

"I will," Harry said, "See you tomorrow." "Bye," Hagrid waved as he left. He stood in the doorway, watching until Harry reached the castle.

The next morning, Harry woke fairly early, at least earlier than normal. He sat up and reached for his glasses on the night table beside his bed and instead of his glasses he felt a bulky package. Once he located his glasses, he grabbed the brown paper package. A small note was attached. He took it and read:

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you.  
Use it well.  
Happy BirthdayHarry looked at the note curiously. There was no name. Whatever was wrapped in the brown paper had once belonged to his father. Perhaps Remus? But he would have put a name on it. Harry picked the package up; it was weightless. He tore the paper off and a silvery liquid fell onto his lap. When he touched it. he realized it wasn't liquid at all, but material. Holding it up in front of him, he could see it was a cloak. He laughed at the idea of wearing a silver cloak like that out in public, but he threw it around his shoulders anyway. He nearly fainted when he saw his body disappear completely. An invisibility cloak! He had an invisibility cloak! He pulled it over his entire body and walked in front of the mirror where he saw only his head floating in mid-air.

"Awesome," he whispered aloud. Harry wanted to use the cloak right then. He pulled the cloak over his head and quietly slipped out of the room. He wandered aimlessly throughout the castle, watching teachers setting up for classes that would begin in only a month. He knew of only of a few teachers, such as Snape and McGonagall, who were regularly at the Headmaster's office.  
As he walked along one corridor, he heard a muffled voices coming from in the shadows. As he crept closer, the voices became clearer.

"How w-would I know how the o-other P-P-Professors plan to p-protect it?" a man with a high-pitched voice stuttered.

"You know. I know you do and I will find out how you found out," Harry recognized this voice as Snape's. He made to back away and bumped against one of the coats of amour. The two men turned abruptly to see who was there. Harry stepped away carefully and slowly as Snape stared at the spot of noise. He backed against the wall as close as he possibly could.

"This is where our meeting ends, Quirrell," Snape said. He came within an a few inches of touching bumping Harry as he walked past. The other man also left, in the opposite direction.  
Once the sound of Snape's and the other man's footfalls died, Harry hurried away as quick as was possible without making any noise. He wondered who 'Quirrell' was and what he and Snape were talking about. It was obviously something of importance that the Professors planned to protect and Snape wanted to know how they planned to do so, from what Harry heard.

He slipped back into his room and wrapped the invisibility cloak back up in the brown paper, stuffing it into the bottom of his bag. He didn't want anyone to know about the cloak. He knew it would come in useful sometime, especially once school started. After a quick shower, Harry left the castle and crossed the grounds to Hagrid's cabin, completely forgetting the conversation he had heard earlier.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" Hagrid greeted.

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said.

"Ready to go, then?" Hagrid asked.

"How are we getting there?" Harry asked. He was sure Hagrid was too big to use floo powder and the train would take all day.

"Portkey. Dumbledore set it up for us this morning," he said, taking an empty lemon drop box out of his pocket.

"I've never used a portkey before," Harry said.

"Just put a finger to it and we'll be taken wherever it takes us," Hagrid explained, "Go ahead. Take hold."

Harry touched an end of the box. He felt a tug behind his navel. Instantly Hagrid's cabin disappeared and he was standing in the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid put the empty box back into his pocket.

"Not too, bad, eh?" Hagrid said. "No," Harry answered.

"Listen, I've got ter go ter Gringotts ter pick somethin' up first 'fore we go anywhere. Official Hogwarts business," Hagrid said importantly.

"What do you need?" Harry asked.

"Can' tell yeh. Very important, though," Hagrid said, "We'll go somewhere fer lunch after. Why don' yeh take a look at some o' the shops while I go there?" "Sure. I'll be in the Quidditch shop," Harry said.

"I'll mee' yeh there when I'm done," Hagrid said. Harry nodded.

They split up at the Quidditch shop, Harry going in, and Hagrid continuing up the cobbled street. Harry made his way through the shop, looking at the latest equipment, and skimming through some of the new magazines. He finally made his way over to the broom in display in the window.

A small, blond boy of Harry's age stood looking at it also. He turned to Harry, "Best broom there is I'd say." "Yeah," Harry agreed.

"I'm going to bully father into buying one for me. First years at Hogwarts aren't allowed them, but I'll find a way to smuggle it in," he said.

"Oh," Harry said shortly. He wasn't really sure if he liked the boy or not.

"Name's Draco Malfoy, by the way," the boy said.

"Harry," he said simply.

"Surname?" asked the boy.

"Er- Lupin," Harry half-lied. He didn't like to draw attention to who he really was. It could be quite annoying at times.

"The name sounds familiar. I think I've heard it before," Draco said. "Common name," Harry said, though he new it wasn't.

"Oh. Are you starting at Hogwarts, too?" Draco asked. Harry nodded.

"I'll probably be in Slytherin. My family's been in it for many generations," he said, "To be honest, though, I'd rather be in the other two than Hufflepuff. Bunch of mudbloods and muggle-lovers in that house."

Harry now was positive he didn't like the boy. He didn't know what a mudblood was, but he was sure it was nothing nice, the way Draco said it. He continued talking, not noticing the glare Harry sent at him.

"I don't think they should let the muggle-borns in at all. Pure blood is all that should be worthy of learning," he continued. Harry clenched his fists. He was getting very angry with the boy.  
"I think all witches and wizards are worthy," he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, so you're a bloody muggle lover, then? Let me guess. You're probably a filthy muggle-born, too," he sneered. Harry raised a fist, ready to hit Draco but his fist was grasped by a hand the size of a trash can lid.

"Harry!" came Hagrid's voice. He put his other hand on Harry's shoulder and led him out into the street. Harry went willingly, though if he saw the nasty looks being thrown at him by Draco, he might not have been so passive.

"Yeh shouldn' be doin' tha'! What happened in there?" Hagrid asked. Harry told Hagrid exactly what the boy had said, changing his mind about what he should be doing.

"I should o' let yeh knock him a good one upside the head," he muttered when Harry finished.  
"Hagrid, what is a mudblood, anyway?" Harry asked.

"Foul thing ter say. It jus' shows how low a person is when they say it. It means dirty blood. People tha' say it mean it towards muggle-borns and half-bloods," Hagrid explained, "Did yeh get his name?" "Malfoy, I think. Draco Malfoy," Harry said.

"O' course. The Malfoys are one of the biggest supporters of 'pure-blood only' in the magical world," Hagrid said, "Don' let Draco get ter yeh, tho'. He won' be the firs' yeh meet like tha'." "Did you get what you needed from Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. got it righ' here," Hagrid patted a small lump in his pocket. Harry wondered curiously what it was that Hagrid had.

-----------------------------Remus stumbled unsteadily down the hall to the bathroom. He held the sink with one hand to keep from swaying as he opened the medicine cabinet in search of the dreamless sleep potion kept inside there. He took it out, opened it, and drank it quickly. He dropped the empty bottle into the garbage and shut the medicine cabinet. He needed to get back to his bedroom before the dreamless sleep potion could take effect. He flopped onto his bed and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.When Remus woke, it was the next morning. He'd gotten a fully welcome twenty four hours of uninterrupted sleep. He crawled out of the bed, yawning. If it weren't for the sleeping potions, he'd never have gotten any sleep at all, with the pain that coursed through his body for those first few hours after he transformed back.

He looked down to his arms. There were teeth marks in his upper left forearm. The Wolfsbane potion wasn't perfect after all, he knew. He went into the bathroom and used some bandages to wrap it up. He was used to this. He was constantly in need of some healing after full moons and it was just his rotten luck that self-inflicted wounds could not be healed magically. So he had to suffer it out the muggle way.

After a long, hot shower, letting the water pour over his sore body, he felt much better. He got dressed and went down to the kitchen to get something to eat before going for Harry. He took some floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Dumbledore greeted him happily as ever when he emerged.

"Good morning, Remus. How are you feeling today?" he asked.

"Rather good, thanks to the potions you gave me," he said, "Thank you." "Do not thank me. It was Severus that had made them for you," Dumbledore said.

"Yes. Well, tell him thanks, then," Remus muttered.

"I shall," Dumbledore said, "Harry is still asleep, I presume. He had a long day yesterday with Hagrid at Diagon Alley."

"Oh, did Hagrid take him out? Good, I'm glad he went somewhere," Remus said.

"From what I've heard of his day, not all was pleasant, though. Hagrid told me Harry had a bit of a run in with Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said.

"Lucius?" Remus asked.

"No. His son, Draco. At one of the shops. It seems Mr. Malfoy said a few things that got Harry incensed," Dumbledore continued.

"Not accidental magic again, was it?" Remus asked apprehensively.

"Again, no. It was more like intentional physics," Dumbledore said, "But Hagrid stopped him before he hit Mr. Malfoy. I do hope when school starts--" "There will be nothing of the sort," Remus assured him.

"Thank you, Remus," Dumbledore said.

"I'll go wake him to go now," Remus said, leaving Dumbledore's office. He walked down the corridor to where Harry stayed. He knocked a few times before opening the door. Harry lay sprawled across the bed.

"Hey, Harry. Get up," he said to the sleeping boy. Harry didn't stir.

"Harry! Wake up!" he called. Harry slowly opened his eyes. Remus handed him his glasses.

"M-m-morning," he said through a yawn.

"Good Morning. And it may be a little late, but Happy Birthday," Remus said.

"Thanks," Harry said.

"Why don't you get dressed so we can go?" Remus said. Harry nodded. He grabbed his bag and went into the bathroom to change while Remus waited. It didn't take very long for Harry to get ready.

"So how was your day yesterday?" Remus asked when he came out.

"Er- good," Harry answered.

"What'd you do?" Remus asked.

"I went to Diagon Alley with Hagrid and we went for lunch," Harry shrugged.

"Nothing else?" Remus pressed.

"Not really," Harry said.

"What about that little incident with Draco Malfoy?" Remus asked. Harry suddenly found his shoes very interesting, dropping his gaze to them.

"We'll talk about this later. Right now, we have somewhere to be," Remus said.

"Where?" Harry asked.

"You'll see. Come on," Remus grinned. They went up to Dumbledore's office and bid him goodbye before flooing back to their house.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"You'll see. Let's go," Remus said. He opened the front door, went outside, and began down the dirt road. Harry followed. All the way, Harry pestered him about where they were going, but Remus didn't drop even the subtlest hint. He led Harry to the small train station in town and bought two tickets to Appleby. Both he and Harry climbed aboard the train.

The train ride lasted an hour with Harry endlessly guessing about where they were going. Finally, the train came to a stop and they got off. 'Where are we now?" Harry asked.

"Appleby," Remus answered.

"I know that,. What's so special about it, though?" Harry asked.

"When will you stop asking me?" Remus asked.

"When you tell me," Harry said. Remus led Harry out of the station and down the main road. Harry gave him a confused look when they entered a dingy side alley.

When they reached the end, Remus pulled out his wand and tapped the brick wall before them twice. It opened like the one in the Leaky Cauldron. Remus watched Harry's face turn to delight when he saw the entrance to the Appleby Arrows Quidditch Stadium before them.  
"Happy Birthday," Remus said.

"Oh, this is great! Thanks!" Harry said happily.

They were ushered along by a guard to the entrance. Remus handed two tickets to the woman at the booth. He and Harry found their seats. Remus had went all out and got the best seats available for the game.

"Who are they playing?" Harry asked.

"First is the amateur game. Two junior league teams from Appleby are playing. The Dragons and Griffins. Then it's the Appleby Arrows and Wimbourne Wasps," Remus said.

"Arrows are going to win, for sure," Harry said.

"I'm going with the Wasps," Remus said.

"Appleby's got that new seeker that's really good. All the Wasps have are their beaters. Their chasers don't work together very well and the keeper isn't up to par. The Arrows, though, have it all together," Harry said, confusing Remus, who only knew the basics of Quidditch. Remus just nodded.

"Why are you going with the Wasps?" Harry asked.

"Yellow and Black are better than --- and ---," Remus said, making Harry laugh.

"And what about the amateur league?" Harry asked.

"Griffins. Blue and White over Red and Yellow, any day," he grinned.

"It says there on the stat board that the Dragons are six and o. Griffins are two and three. You can't go against those odds. Look at the size of the Dragons compared to the Griffins, too," Harry said.

After the game, Harry had endure Remus' slight taunting of how the Griffins had managed to slam the Dragons and how the wasps had stolen the game.

"Three-fifty to one-eighty. What a win," Remus said, "And then how the Wasps' seeker stole the snitch from under the Arrows' seeker's nose. That was great." "I guess I'd better switch to the 'who has better team color' system, too," Harry said.

"Yes. That's the secret to winning. You've got to have the best team colors," Remus said.  
"Oh, I see now. It's all about fashion. So that's why I always beat you when we play," Harry joked.

"Hey, I take offense to that," Remus faked a hurt look.

"I suppose I should be thankful you don't dress like that," Harry whispered. He nodded towards an older man with a dress on.

"Archie, why must you always wear that when we go out!" a woman beside him screeched.  
"I like it. It's what muggles wear," he said resolutely. The woman threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Whatever you say, Archie. Whatever you say," she muttered. Harry and Remus tried to hide their fits of laughter as they exited the stadium. They went through the barrier and back to train station, where Remus purchased two tickets back. It was nearly Five o'clock when they finally got home.

"Thanks, dad. Today was great," Harry said.

"Well, there is still one more small thing," Remus said. He pointed to a box wrapped in blue paper on the kitchen table. Harry picked it up and pulled the paper off. It was a broom polishing kit.

"Thanks, dad," Harry said.

"Let's go get your broom and try it," Remus said. He followed Harry upstairs and into his room. He stood and watched from the doorway as Harry opened his closet.

"Wow! You actually got it for me!" Harry exclaimed when he saw what was inside. He pulled out the new Nimbus 2000, "This is awesome. I can't believe you got it!" He set the broom back down and hugged Remus.

"Thanks! This is the best!" he said excitedly, "When can I try it out?"

Remus was about to say 'Now' but thought better of it, instead saying, "I'm not sure."

Harry looked at him confusedly, "You're not sure? What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not sure," Remus said, "We still have that Draco Malfoy matter to discuss."  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"Oh," Harry said. He had forgotten about that.

"Sit and tell me what happened," Remus said. Harry sat on his bed and launched into the story of what happened at the Quidditch store without leaving anything out.

"And so I was going to hit him, but Hagrid came and he stopped me," Harry finished and waited for the response.

"You know better than to fight," Remus said disappointedly.

"But after what he said, I couldn't let it go. He deserved it," Harry said.

"And what would hitting him prove?" Remus asked.

To shut his fat mouth in front of me, Harry thought, but had more sense to say so.  
"Nothing, I guess," he answered.

"You can't go hitting people every time you're angry," Remus said.

As long as you don't find out about it, I can, he thought.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," was what he said out loud, though.

"Good," Remus said, "You can have your broom back on Sunday." "Sunday? That's four days.

And I didn't even hit him," Harry argued.

"I know," Remus smirked, "So imagine if you did."


	5. Chapter 4 Sorting Hat

"Harry, are you all packed?" Remus called up the stairs.  
  
"Nearly," Harry called back to him. Remus went upstairs to make sure Harry had everything packed. When he entered Harry's room, he found him struggling to get his trunk to shut.  
  
"Let me get that for you," he said.  
  
"Er- no. I'll get it," Harry said, though it was clear he wouldn't.  
  
"I'll put an expansion charm on it," Remus said, taking his wand from his pocket. He opened the trunk and pointed his wand at the inside. He was about to say the incantation when something caught his eye from inside the trunk. He reached for the partially covered broom and pulled it out of the trunk. Harry gave a half grin and shrugged.  
  
"Nice try. You know first years aren't allowed to bring their own brooms," Remus said. He set the broom aside.  
  
"Are you sure you have everything packed that you'll need?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," Harry answered and added, "Well, I did just a minute ago."  
  
"Funny," Remus said, ruffling Harry's hair. Harry tried to straighten it out.  
  
"Really no point in trying to straighten it," Remus grinned. Harry sent Remus a fake glare and gave up on his untidy hair, though he was careful to make sure his scar was covered.  
  
"We'd better get going if we don't want to be late," Remus said, checking his watch. He grabbed Harry's trunk and Harry took Sly's cage. They went downstairs and outside to the dirt road before their house. Remus stuck out his wand hand and, with a loud BANG, a large violet triple-decker bus appeared before him and Harry. A young man in a violet uniform greeted them.  
  
"Welcome to the knight bus. My name's Stan Shunpike. I'll be your conductor today. Where'll you be traveling to this mornin'?" he asked.  
  
"London," Remus said.  
  
"Lemme guess. You're goin' to King's Cross for 'ogwarts, arencha?" he asked, looking from Harry to the trunk, "There's a few others on board 'eaded there, too."  
  
Stan helped them aboard with their things and they took them up to the second floor because the first was already full.  
  
"That'll be Twenty-Two sickles," Stan said. Remus handed him the money and he left. A moment later, the bus took off again and Remus and Harry were nearly thrown from their seats. Many of the people aboard were complaining of the driving skills of the bus driver.  
  
Every few minutes, there was another BANG and they arrived somewhere else, picking up more passengers and sometimes letting some off. Finally, the bus appeared on a London street and pulled up in front of King's Cross Station. Almost the whole bus was emptied at this stop. Children of all ages with their parents, dragged trunks and animal cages off the bus.  
  
"Have you got your ticket?" Remus asked. Harry pulled it out of his pocket.  
  
"Platform nine and three quarters," he said. Remus got a trolley. They put Harry's things on it and wheeled it into the station. Remus led Harry to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.  
  
"You just walk straight through the barrier and the Hogwarts Express is on the other side. Try not to be obvious about it with the muggles about," Remus said quietly to Harry.  
  
Harry took the trolley and casually pushed it against the barrier. He kept going right through and emerged onto platform nine and three quarters. Remus came through the barrier next, followed by a few others. A long, scarlet steam engine stood on the tracks before them. Most were already aboard the train, except for a few lingering students, saying good bye to their families.  
  
"I didn't think it would take so long to get here on the knight bus. There's only a few minutes before the train leaves," Remus said.  
  
"I'd better go then," Harry said.  
  
"Yes, I suppose," Remus sighed. He helped Harry get his trunk aboard the train. Being at the train station was bringing back a rush of memories. The disbelief that he was actually going to Hogwarts. The raven-haired boy insisting that he sit with him and his friends.  
  
"Well, I should get going," Harry said, bringing him out of his reverie.  
  
"I want loads of letters from you all year," Remus said.  
  
"I'll send tons," Harry assured him.  
  
"Okay. Now, you behave yourself and have fun," Remus said.  
  
"I will," Harry said.  
  
"I love you. Good bye," Remus said.  
  
"Bye. Love you, too," Harry said as a whistle sounded. He climbed aboard the train and waved to Remus.  
  
"I'll see you for Christmas," Remus said. Slowly, the train began to move. Remus waved until it was out of sight.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Harry walked down the train corridor, looking for a compartment that wasn't full. He dragged his trunk with one hand and carried the cage with Sly in it, in the other. A compartment door slid open a few feet ahead of Harry and a girl with bushy, brown hair stepped out.  
  
"Are you looking for somewhere to sit?" she asked, "There's room in our compartment, if you want."  
  
"Sure," Harry said. He took his trunk into the compartment and stuffed it on the rack above them. A round-faced boy sat near the window, holding tight to a large toad. Next to him sat a red haired boy, holding a rat. Harry recognized him from Diagon Alley a few weeks ago.  
  
"I'm so excited to be going to Hogwarts. I didn't even know I was a witch until I got the letter a few weeks ago. No one in my family is magical. I had to buy extra books in Diagon Alley just to find everything out. Oh, I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. And this is Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley. What's your name?" she said all of this very quickly.  
  
"Harry Potter," he said.  
  
"Are you really? I've read about you in three different Modern Magical History books so far," she said, "I've read through the course books all summer and almost know them by heart."  
  
Harry was surprised when he heard this. He hadn't bothered to do more than flip through them. By the look on the other two boys' face, he wasn't the only one.  
  
"I've read Hogwarts, A History this summer, but I want to hear from the older students what it's really like. So I'll see you in a bit," she said, standing and opening the compartment door.  
  
"Bye," Neville and Harry said as she left. Ron only rolled his eyes at her.  
  
"She must be the most annoying person I've ever met," he said  
  
"She's just excited to be going to Hogwarts," Harry defended her.  
  
"Still rather annoying. So do you really have the scar from you-know-who?" Ron asked, looking to Harry's forehead.  
  
"Yes," Harry said shortly. That was the last thing he wanted to be talking about on his first day of school.  
  
"Do you remember anything about you-know-who?" Ron asked.  
  
"No," Harry said. He couldn't believe anyone could be so intrusive. He wasn't sure if he liked the boy much.  
  
"Nothing at all?" Ron pushed.  
  
"No," Harry said.  
  
"Oh," Ron said and after he a pause, asked, "So, I heard rumours that you went to live with a werewolf. Is that true?"  
  
"I don't think it's any of your business," Harry snapped.  
  
"I was just asking," Ron muttered.  
  
"Well, don't," Harry said.  
  
"I'm out of here," Ron said before leaving the compartment.  
  
There was a long silence in the compartment, before Neville spoke.  
  
"What house do you think you'll be in?" he asked.  
  
"I hope Gryffindor. Most of my family's been," Harry said.  
  
"My mum was in Gryffindor and my dad was in Ravenclaw. But I bet I'll be put in Hufflepuff," Neville sighed.  
  
"Nothing wrong with Hufflepuff," Harry said, though he hoped he wasn't put there, "It's Better than Slytherin, anyway."  
  
"Yeah," Neville agreed.  
  
They sat talking about Hogwarts and their families until near noon when the compartment door slid open and a witch pushing a trolley asked kindly, "Anything off the trolley dears?"  
  
"Yes, please," Harry said. He took a little of everything and paid for it. He brought it back into the compartment and dropped it onto the seat. He saw Neville look at the pile of sweets with surprise.  
  
"A bit hungry?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," Harry said, "Help yourself. I'm sure I can't eat all of this myself."  
  
"Thanks," Neville said, grabbing a chocolate frog from the pile.  
  
The two boys ate through the pile of food rather quickly. And Hermione almost fainted when she came in and saw the wrappers littering the seats and floor.  
  
"Look at this mess," she tutted and then smiled, "Oh, but I can practice that cleaning charm from chapter six of The Standard Book of Spells."  
  
She pulled out her wand and pointed at the mess, "Scourgify." The mess magically cleaned itself up and Hermione beamed.  
  
"That was good," Harry said.  
  
"I was practicing all summer at home," she said, "Where did Ron go?"  
  
Harry and Neville shrugged.  
"I asked the older students about the houses and I think Gryffindor and Ravenclaw sound best by far," she said.  
  
"Albus Dumbledore was in Gryff-- Trevor!" Neville exclaimed as his toad hopped away from him. He made a grab for the toad, but it hopped further away. The compartment door slid open and Trevor jumped right out as three boys walked in. Harry recognized one of them as the boy he nearly fought with at the Quidditch shop in Diagon alley. The other two boys stood beside him like body guards.  
  
"So you're Harry Potter?" Draco Malfoy scoffed, "One of the many Weasleys littering this school was talking about it down the train. He said you were in this compartment. But I guess we've already met."  
  
"I guess we have," Harry said.  
  
"We didn't get off to such a great start then. Too bad. If we did, perhaps I could have helped stop you from hanging out with rubbish like a Longbottom or muggle-borns," he said.  
  
"Get out," Harry said through gritted teeth.  
  
"Oh, but I don't think I want to. I would love to see you try to make me, though," Malfoy said.  
  
"Get out, Malfoy!" Harry spat, jumping up from his seat.  
  
"Harry, don't. You'll be expelled before we arrive," Hermione tugged at his shoulder to sit.  
  
"I hope there is no trouble here," an older red haired boy stuck his head in, obviously hearing the commotion. Harry recognized him as another one of the Weasleys from Diagon Alley.  
  
"What do you care?" Malfoy snapped.  
  
"I care because I am a prefect. And unless you want detention on your first night at Hogwarts, I suggest you break up this argument and watch your attitude," the boy said.  
  
"You must be a Weasley. Yeah, I can tell by the red hair and freckles. Your parents must like you better than the rest, though. Your brothers all have tattered old hand-me-down robes," Malfoy sneered, "Come on, Crabbe, Goyle."  
  
He motioned for his two friends to follow him and they did, along with the prefect.  
  
"Oh, now I've lost Trevor again!" Neville cried.  
  
"Don't worry, Neville. We'll help you look for him," Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah. We'll find him," Harry said.  
  
For twenty minutes, they searched the train, asking if anyone had seen the missing toad. Hermione managed to find it in a compartment of third year Hufflepuffs.  
  
For the rest of the journey, Harry was content to just sit and talk to his two new friends. The train ride lasted until nightfall, when it finally slowed to a stop. A voice echoed through the train telling them to leave their luggage on the train. It would be taken up separately. Harry followed Hermione and Neville off of the train and into the crowd of students at the station.  
  
"Firs' years over here!" a voice called. Ahead Harry could see Hagrid calling for the first years to come with him. Harry made his way over with Hermione and Neville behind him.  
  
"Follow me, firs' years! This way!" Hagrid called. The first years followed him down a step rocky path.  
  
"You'll see Hogwarts for the first time. Just around here," Hagrid said. As they turned the bend, there was a loud "Oooh" Even Harry, who'd been to the castle so often, couldn't help but be amazed at the sight of the castle.  
  
"No more'n four to a boat," Hagrid said as they reached the lakeside. Harry climbed into one with Hermione, Neville and a sandy-haired boy.  
  
Once everyone was in, the boats began to row themselves across the lake, toward the castle. Once they reached shore, everyone clambered out of the boats and followed Hagrid up to the great oak front doors of the castle. He knocked and the doors immediately swung open. A black haired witch in emerald robes, Professor Minerva McGonagall, stood before them. She led them into the Entrance Hall and off to a small Chamber across from the entrance to the Great Hall.  
  
After explaining to them about the sorting ceremony, she left to see if they were ready for the first years, returning not much later to lead them into the Great Hall. They stood in a line before the four house tables, full of students watching them.  
  
Harry shifted nervously. He wondered how they would be sorted into their houses. Remus wouldn't tell him. Behind him, he heard Ron whispering about how his brother said they had to wrestle a troll and Hermione was going on about which spells she might need to use.  
  
When Professor McGonagall told them that they would only have to try on a hat, most all of them sighed with relief.  
  
"Abbot, Hannah!" was the first name Professor McGonagall called.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted and that table burst into cheers as she joined them.  
  
The line of students slowly thinned out as students were sorted. The hat took a long time to decide before placing both Hermione and Neville in Gryffindor whereas, it barely touched the head of Malfoy before putting him into Slytherin.  
  
When Professor McGonagall called Harry's name, the hall burst into whispers. Harry slowly walked up to the stool and sat down.  
  
"Potter, hmm. Very difficult to place. Very difficult, indeed," said a voice in his ear, "You've got plenty of courage and, oh yes, lots of determination. So where shall I put you?"  
  
Anywhere but Slytherin, Harry thought.  
  
"You don't want to be in Slytherin? But you would do well there," it said.  
  
No. Not Slytherin. Please, Harry thought.  
  
"Well if you're sure, better be GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled the last word out loud. And the table to Harry's right burst into loud cheers. The twins Harry remembered from trying to sneak into Knockturn Alley were singing 'We've got Potter! We've got Potter!"  
  
Harry took a seat at the Gryffindor table across from Hermione and next to one of the Weasley twins. All together, Gryffindor got three new girls and five boys.  
  
The feast was like nothing Harry had ever been to. After a few odd words from the Headmaster, hundreds of different foods had appeared onto the tables out of nowhere. Harry had never seen so many different foods at once before.  
  
"So, Harry you like Quidditch much?" one of the twins asked.  
  
"Love it," Harry said.  
  
"Me too. Me and my brother Fred are on the Gryffindor team," he said, motioning at his twin.  
"Best beaters Hogwarts will ever see," Fred smirked, "George holds the record for most broken noses given in a single season."  
  
"Do you play at all?" George asked.  
  
"Yeah, a bit. Usually chasing or keeping, though. I've never tried as beater. Or seeker," he said.  
  
Harry chatted with the twins for some time about Quidditch and other things. Then Hermione got his attention when she began telling him some things about Hogwarts that she had read. He got on rather well with Hermione and the twins. Ron had pretty much ignored him the whole time, though he sat only a seat away.  
  
When Harry had eaten as much dinner as he thought was possible, the dinner plates disappeared and new plates appeared with deserts. He was able to find a bit more room when he saw the treacle tart. After the feast, Dumbledore rose and silenced the hall to give his start of term notices which included a long list of things forbidden by Mr. filch, a warning that the forbidden forest was well, forbidden (here his twinkling eyes stopped at the Weasley twins), and a warning that the third floor corridor is out of bounds to all students who did not wish to die a most painful death. Only a few students laughed at this. Many seemed to know that he was serious.  
  
"And now for the school song!" Dumbledore announced happily. He waved his wand and a string of ribbon began to form words high above the tables.  
  
"Everyone pick their own favorite tune. Let's go!" he said.  
  
Each student picked out a different tune and began singing at different speeds and tones. Everyone ended at a different time. The Weasley twins were last with a slow funeral march. When they finished, Dumbledore clapped enthusiastically.  
  
"Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here," he said, wiping his eyes, "Now off to bed with you all!"  
  
Harry grinned. Anyone who didn't know the old Headmaster must surely think him mad, he thought.  
  
"First year Gryffindors with me!" called Percy the Prefect over the heads of students. Harry made his way over to Percy with the other first year Gryffindors. It took a long time to get to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower, which was located on the seventh floor of the castle.  
  
"Password?" asked a large woman in a pink dress from a portrait in the wall.  
  
"Caput Draconis," Percy said and the portrait swung open to show an opening to get into the common room.  
  
"Oh no," Neville groaned, "I'll never remember that."  
  
Harry crawled through the portrait hole behind Hermione. The common room was decorated in Gryffindor colors, Red and gold. There was a large roaring fire with squashy armchairs surrounding it.  
  
"Girls dormitory to your right. Boys this way," Percy said when everyone was inside.  
  
"Night," Harry and Neville said to Hermione.  
  
"Good night," she said.  
  
Harry followed sleepily up the spiral stairs leading to the top floor. Percy showed them through a door into their dormitory. Five four-poster beds lined the walls. At the foot of each bed were their trunks. Harry found his own trunk and crawled into the bed it was at. He laid in bed for quite some time, just thinking how happy he was.  
  
The only way his life could be better was if his parents were with him. Yet, he was glad that Remus was his father. He felt guilty at the thought. He loved his parents and would give anything to have them back, but he loved Remus, too.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Remus sat cross legged in a large arm chair with a photo album laid open in his lap. He flipped the pages idly. They ranged from his own years at Hogwarts to Harry's childhood. Pictures of him, James, Sirius, and Peter covered the first many pages. Some of the later ones included Lily.  
  
When Remus had first found out about Sirius' betrayal, he nearly burnt every picture with the man in it. But it was that was the old Sirius. The old Sirius that would never betray a single one of them. Remus still could not believe it was Sirius that had betrayed them. He was so sure it would be Peter. He had even told Sirius and James this a week before Lily and James were killed. But they refused to believe that and pinned him as the traitor. That had hurt. More than anything else in his life that hurt.  
  
When Dumbledore had came to his house the evening of October thirty-first and told Remus that Lily and James were dead and Sirius was responsible for it, he refused to believe it. He had fought Dumbledore about it. He knew it couldn't be true, but Dumbledore explained about the secret-keeper. Sirius was their secret-keeper and he turned them into Voldemort.  
  
Remus flipped through the pictures from the marauders' years at Hogwarts, which were a good many. James had insisted that they have a camera with them always to capture every prank and trick, which were also a good many. There were also a lot of pictures from after Hogwarts. But only a year's worth of James and Lily with their son.  
  
It should have been longer, Remus thought sadly. They had only a year with Harry, but he had so many more. It wasn't fair to them. Yet, he was glad that Harry was his son. Remus felt guilty at the thought. He loved his two best friends and would give anything to have them back, but he loved having Harry, too.

A/N - All of you 'Ron lovers' out there don't worry. Miss Anonymous hp got it right when she said Ron and Mione were going to sort of switch part. Ron and Harry will be friends again. Just wait it out. Thank you all of my reviewing people. You are loved.


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